Dessert recipes

Pastel tres leches Aldaco soaks a tender sponge cake in evaporated, condensed, and whole milk with a splash of rum for a creamy Mexican classic best made the night before.

European-style apple tart with a buttery crumb crust pressed into a flan pan. Grated apples layered with cinnamon and sugar, topped with a pastry apple design. Best served cold for clean slicing.

No-egg applesauce cake with cocoa, warm spices, raisins, and nuts. Three cups of hot applesauce replace the eggs and most of the fat for an incredibly moist, spiced sheet cake.

Deep-dish pear pie with Anjou pears in a creamy yogurt custard filling, topped with a cinnamon streusel crumb. Nutmeg and vanilla round out this lighter take on a fruit pie.

Soft apple cookies loaded with raisins, nuts, and warm spices, topped with a vanilla powdered sugar glaze. Apple juice in the batter doubles down on fresh apple flavor.

Molasses ginger snaps with the classic crackled tops that form as the dough balls melt and spread. Warmly spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, these crisp-edged cookies are a holiday baking staple.

Mini carrot cakes with chutney, coconut, walnuts, and warm spices baked in mini muffin tins. Topped with cream cheese frosting for bite-sized party treats.

Hummingbird cake stacks three layers of banana-pineapple-pecan cake under tangy cream cheese frosting. Southern church-supper royalty, no mixer required, just stir and pour. The crumb stays moist for days thanks to fruit and oil.

A spicy cookie with a mealy, rather unusual texture.

Old-fashioned cold water cake with muscat raisins, warm spices, and no eggs or butter. A Depression-era boiled raisin cake that bakes up dense, spiced, and deeply satisfying.

Double chocolate slice-and-bake refrigerator cookies with melted chocolate, mini chips, and a hint of cinnamon. Make-ahead dough freezes for 2 months.

Mom's apple cake loaded with five fresh apples, crushed nuts, and cinnamon in a one-bowl oil batter. No eggs, no butter, and incredibly moist. Swap applesauce for oil for a lighter version.

Easy spiced apple cake bakes a small one-bowl batter with cinnamon, ginger, and fresh sliced apples in a pie tin. Quick fall snack cake with light and dark brown sugars.

Butter-free pecan sugar cookies with brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, and allspice. Chewy with warm spice flavor and ground pecans in every bite.

Mini pumpkin pie cookie cups with a cream cheese pastry shell, spiced pumpkin filling with rum and vanilla, and a crunchy pecan-brown sugar topping.

Pecan coffee cake with a thick brown sugar-cinnamon crumb topping loaded with pecans. Egg whites keep the cake tender and light under that crunchy crust.